The Nightmare
by DChan87
Summary: Sakura wakes up from a recurring nightmare of the time Sasuke put her in a genjutsu after what was supposed to be their greatest achievment. Fortunately, her boyfriend Naruto is there for her. Angst, then fluff.


They'd done it. They'd _finally_ done it.

Kaguya was sealed. The world was saved, thanks to their efforts. The Infinite Tsukuyomi was still cast, and its victims still hung from the God Tree. But it was only a matter of time until Naruto and Sasuke would release the jutsu, and the rest of the world from its clutches. Hagoromo Ohtsusuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, stood—er, floated, in front of the victorious and reunited Team 7 and the rest of the tailed beasts around them. Obito and Kakashi finally reconciled after all these years.

And then Sasuke had to open his mouth.

Sakura stood there, wide-eyed, staring at him, as he talked about his plans for Konoha. This wasn't right. Why would he do this after helping to save the world? Why was he continuing the cycle of hatred and violence? Something inside her, her Inner Sakura, screamed at her to do or say something, but she felt gobsmacked and helpless to do anything.

"Catastrophic Planetary Construction!"

Sasuke made a sign with his hands. Sakura screamed as the ground shook and tore apart. She barely heard Naruto shouting something over the din to the Tailed Beasts. She didn't see them being incased in balls made of earth, nor the Sage's lamentation of how nothing had changed, nor Naruto's declaration to stop Sasuke. She was too focused on trying to stay alive.

When the rumbling finally stopped, she looked out at the battlefield at Sasuke and Naruto, standing across from each other, ready to do battle. Now she could just barely hear them.

"Naruto… you don't understand at all. You're the jinchuriki of all the Tailed Beasts. Which means I have to get rid of their chakra from inside you."

Sakura gasped.

"In short, you're going to die."

She tuned out the rest of what he said. She thought he'd changed, after he saved her earlier. She'd hoped they could finally settle down and have a family together. Maybe they still could, if Sasuke realized what he was doing was wrong.

"Sasuke, hold it!" Kakashi-sensei shouted.

"Sensei!" she also shouted when he collapsed from exhaustion.

Holding Kakashi-sensei up, she sadly stared at Sasuke. She desperately wanted to say something that could finally snap him out of this. She gathered up her courage, despite the tears forming. She was Tsunade's pupil! She was the best medical ninja in the world! She just punched a goddess! Why was she letting herself be scared of Sasuke like a scared little girl!? She grit her teeth. Tears streamed down her cheek. She had one last chance to save Sasuke, and she was going to take it.

"I know… I know there's nothing I can do, even though I love and care about you so much, Sasuke!" she called. "I can't get close, or go toe-to-toe with you. I can only whine, beg and cry again. I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

She flashed back to the time he thanked her, just before leaving the village. "But, but Sasuke! If there's just a little bit of your heart that thinks about me, please don't leave me again!" She was crying now. "It can be like old times, can't it?"

Sasuke turned around. She could see the rinnegan in his eyes, and the sneer. Both chilled her to the bone. Before she could move, she saw swirling red and a flash of electric blue. Something when right through her chest. She was stunned. Her thoughts went blank. Then came the pain, shooting out from her chest, setting her entire body on fire. Her expression one of dull surprise, she could only look at Sasuke, the one she loved, coldly sticking his hand into her chest. She knew right here that she was going to die. The man she loved had killed her.

She collapsed. She couldn't understand how it could end here, after their greatest triumph. Why? Why had he done this? Was he so full of hate that he could not love? It had to be the Uchiha Curse of Hatred. Or, maybe not. Maybe, just maybe, he really was a monster. Hate replaced confusion. She hated Sasuke Uchiha. And although the cycle of hatred would live on, she cursed him for ruining everything they'd ever worked for.

Then it went black

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

She screamed. She sat up. It was still pitch black. Had she gone to the afterlife? Was she dead? The first thing she noticed was something she felt. It was soft, but firm, and the same sensation covered her feet. It wasn't the dirty ground she'd collapsed on, it felt like cloth. It was also dark, but something about it didn't look like the darkness of sleeping outdoors. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Her thoughts spun like a silk loom until she came to the conclusion that not only was she not on the ground, nor inside, but she was in her bed.

She hated how she sometimes forgot everything after waking up in the middle of the night, but it happened a lot. She sighed as her eyes refocused on everything in the room. There was a TV at the foot of the bed, on top of her dresser. She looked out at the window and could see the streetlights outside. The air conditioner gently blew, providing a cool relief from Konoha's hot summer. Oh yes, she also remembered that this was the real Konoha, not her in another reality where she's not a ninja or whatever. She's Sakura Haruno, a doctor, age 20.

Her skin felt slick and wet, and so did her spaghetti-strapped night tank top. Even though the air conditioning was going, that didn't mean that she sometimes sweat like this whenever she had—that nightmare.

It came back to her immediately. It was a recurring nightmare that started not long after the end of the Third Great Ninja War, after Sasuke left the village with a "sorry". Remembering the silent frustration she felt that day, she growled, balled up her fist and punched the sheets with a soft "fwomp". It was pretty silly, of course. At least she didn't bust down her apartment. That almost happened one time, no joke. She was lucky she only put a hole in her wall that the landlord made her pay, but it was no biggie. She could afford to fix a hole in the wall.

Running her hand through her pink bob cut, she thought of what to do next. She would have to go to her therapist to talk about this, just like she did _ev-ery sing-gle time_ she had this dream. The therapist told her it was a mental disorder that, while very old, was just beginning to finally be understood. It affected soldiers and regular people across the globe. The therapist said that it was, for the moment, called "combat shock", although that might change. Her case wasn't as bad as some, though. Like that made her feel any better.

" _It's not your fault_ ," she remembered her therapist telling her. Like that would do any good. Okay, her therapist was genuinely trying to help, and she needed to thank him when she went back to him.

But now she didn't want to go to back to sleep. She was wide awake now, now question about that. It'd be hard to get back to sleep. Part of her didn't want to, because she dreaded that dream again. Right on the very thought, she felt her chest clutching and her nerves tingling. She clutched her chest with her left hand and her sheets with her right. There was no way she was going to get back to sleep now. She looked at the clock. It was well into the hour of the ox now. She'd have better luck healing a cancer patient's nearly inoperable tumor.

However, she saw her phone next to the clock. Without thinking, she picked it up.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Naruto was having an awesome dream. The best dream ever, in fact. Ichiraku's was holding an all-you-can-eat ramen promotion, and he'd already had three bowls and working on a fourth. Everyone there enviously watched him slowly slurp the ramen and shake his still-shaggy hair every time he finished. Then he'd continue as if he hadn't stopped. Some of the village girls watching with stars in their eyes, and one even mentioned that she wanted to know how good he was at—WHOA, that made him stop, although it was very, very flattering in its own perverted way.

He sheepishly chuckled, blushing all the while, until he heard an awful, ear-splitting ringing. He thought it was this promotion's timer and he had to finish his ramen before he had to pay full price for this bowl, when he realized that it wasn't a timer at all.

Opening his eyes, he reached out for his phone, picked it up and answered, "Hello?" in a very groggy voice.

"Naruto?"

"Sakura? Wha—it's like, super early, y'know?"

"I know, but…" the pause at the end of her sentence made him nervous. "I had that dream again."

"Which one?"

" _That_ one; the one with Sasuke's genjutsu."

Naruto sighed. Yes, he knew about it. "What do you want me to do?"

"Can I come to your apartment?"

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"Thanks. Bye!" He heard the 'click' on the other end. Putting his phone down, he sighed.

It was that moment, plus the half-baked apology that made her finally come to her senses, that Sasuke was an irredeemable bastard, and she'd wasted her life trying to get his attention. But now she and Naruto were dating. They were both happy. But, Naruto had to admit it came with certain challenges, like his girlfriend's "combat shock", as her therapist called it. Right now she needed a comforting presence. He knew that a hug wasn't enough to "cure" her, nor would the dreams stop. She would live with this curse for the rest of her life. He wished that a hug _could_ cure her, but that was a foolish wish, that didn't even begin to address her troubles. Even if it wasn't as severe as other veterans.

He heard the door open. She had a key to his apartment and he a key to hers (they lived in the same building). He heard her soft footfalls approaching his bedroom, and then finally the door opening up. His eyes had already focused in the dark, and he could see her, close to tears. Promptly, he got out of bed, opened his arms wide and steadied himself for when she inevitably tackled him, then he threw his arms around her.

He firmly held her in his arms while she buried her face in his chest, trying to hold back her crying. He also tried not to grunt, because her nails were digging into his back, and he remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Hindsight's a bitch. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that his girlfriend needed him right now. He could already feel the wetness, and not from the fact that she was obviously sweating. That sweat was already drying up. He held her tighter, but careful not to crush her ribs. He did rub her back, though.

Already on the verge of a full-blown crying episode, Sakura felt herself relax as her boyfriend gently rubbed her back. Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she relaxed in his grip, but didn't move from it, because she was so thankful that he was here right now. Her whole body was tensed, but now she felt every single muscle in her body loosen. She had been thinking about Sasuke's cold stare and sneer right before her put her in that genjutsu, but now it was just her and Naruto, in his bedroom, and she was safe. She could face down anything, but she too needed soft contact.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I'm here."

"Thank you," she whispered back. She smiled again when he kissed the top of her head, letting his lips linger as they swayed like in a dance or something.

"Want to go back to your apartment?"

Sakura grunting something that sounded like an 'uh-uh'. Gently smiling, Naruto picked her up and gently pulled her into his bed, where he put his arm around her, letting her cuddle up to him. Before he drifted off to sleep, he gently kissed her, which she returned. When it was clear that he was asleep, Sakura cuddled up to him.

 _I love this man_ , she happily thought as she drifted off to sleep.

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I hope you guys took your insulin shots and went to the dentist. How'd you like it? I'm sorry "What Went Wrong for Us" is taking so long to update, but I had this idea for this here one-shot, so I decided to do this. Just tell what you think, please!


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